The US GP was another controversial chapter added to this year’s title battle. Not for the first time in 2024, Norris lost out after a wheel-to-wheel engagement with Verstappen. After losing further ground in the standings, Lando Norris believes adjustments are necessary.
Norris to make changes in racing approach
Penalty decisions are becoming an increasingly common theme in post-race debate. Last weekend’s race in COTA was particularly polemic, with the FIA awarding several penalties across the field.
These sanctions were often controversial – including the 5-second penalty awarded to Norris after his late-race overtake on Verstappen.
Moving forward, drivers and teams are likely to look for clarity on the rules when racing wheel-to-wheel.
Amidst these pic-picture conversations, Lando Norris was self-critical when assessing his battles with Verstappen this year:
“I think Max is probably the best, and I’ll probably say quite confidently.
“He’s the best in the world in this style of defence and attacking, and those kind of things,” Norris explained to the media.
“I’m going up against the best in the world and therefore I’ve got to be at his level.
“At the minute I would say I’m not quite at the level I need to be at, and his level.
“It’s a shame to say, but it’s probably the truth. At the same time, it’s an experience for me to learn and progress and try and do better.”
Despite McLaren’s pace advantage over Red Bull for the majority of 2024, Max Verstappen still enjoys a significant cushion in the standings.
The RB20’s pace in COTA, which seemed more competitive after a floor update, will complicate things for Norris and his team.
Andrea Stella’s squad must find more performance – if they are to restore the advantage that saw them dominate in Zandvoort and Singapore.
In addition to this, they cannot afford any more operational errors. Pressure continues to increase at the McLaren garage – which is to be expected at this stage of a Championship battle.
